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Omura City Ranked #1 in Japan for "Easiest Municipalities to Raise Children" — The Accumulation of "Everyday Things" Seen Through Living Locally
- May 1
- 4 min read
In November 2025, Nikkei BP Intelligence Group released its "Easiest Municipalities to Raise Children Ranking 2025," and Omura City in Nagasaki Prefecture was selected as #1 in the country. Akashi City (Hyogo) came in 2nd, and Nagareyama City (Chiba) 3rd, followed by three central Tokyo wards in 4th place and beyond.
When I heard the news, I was happy — and a little relieved.
Alongside my work at Envital, I've been involved in community development in Omura City for about five years. While maintaining a dual-base lifestyle traveling between Tokyo and Omura, I've heard local mothers say repeatedly, "It's easy to raise kids here." Families with three children are completely ordinary. At a time when Japan's declining birthrate is being shouted from every rooftop, this feeling struck me as something a bit special — and now the numbers have backed it up.
A City of "Balance," Not "Standout"
Looking at the ranking details, Omura's character becomes clear. It ranked #1 nationally for resident reputation, and #8 for the ratio of young population. Rather than any single policy standing out, the city maintains a high standard across all eight evaluation categories — safety and security, daily convenience, healthcare, childcare support, and more.
What I feel as someone who lives in this city half the time is that there isn't one flashy policy driving this — it's the accumulation of long-term infrastructure investment that has firmly established the foundations of daily life.
Hospitals are close by. You can get into a daycare. Shopping is convenient. The sidewalks are safe. The library is wonderful — Mirai on Library is a name that comes up again and again in resident surveys. There are places where adults and children alike can spend a whole day. The Shinkansen has arrived, and there's an airport.
How luxurious these "everyday" things actually are. It's hard to notice when you're in Tokyo, but maintaining this kind of balance in a regional city can't be easy.
Omura is the only city among Nagasaki's 13 cities to have grown in population for 50 consecutive years. Its total fertility rate is 1.74, far above the national average of 1.20. These numbers weren't achieved by some sudden policy — I believe they're the result of quiet, steady accumulation over a long stretch of time.
Image source: "Omura City Ranks #1 Nationally in 'Easiest Municipalities to Raise Children Ranking' — Aiming for 'Childcare Supported by the Whole Town' (Nagasaki)" Nagasaki TV, broadcast January 22, 2026
Being Part of This City's Development
I started getting involved with Omura City during the process of formulating its "Future City Vision." Why would someone whose main work is business development for technology companies get involved in community development for a regional city in Kyushu? At first, I think people around me found it puzzling.
The reason was simple: I saw potential in this city. There are plenty of regional cities with airports across Japan, but few that maintain population growth and have the kind of structure where the public and private sectors can sit at the same table and act together. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, five years had passed.
Things have built up gradually over those five years. Government staff and the private sector have come to understand each other's circumstances. Networks with local businesses have started to operate in practical terms. These "invisible assets" don't show up in rankings, but I feel they're becoming the foundation for the next move.
Beyond the Ranking
I'm honestly happy about the #1 ranking. But what really matters, I think, is what comes next.
What's needed to keep being a city where it's easy to raise children? The 39 items in the ranking are all evaluations of "life today." But we also need preparation that looks toward "life ten years from now." Streamlining government services through digital technology, diversifying transportation, locally producing and consuming energy — there are many themes.
The reason I keep being involved in both my main technology business development work and community development in Omura is that I believe these two things ultimately connect. The technologies held by overseas deep-tech companies, and the challenges held by regional communities on the ground. I keep at it with the thought that perhaps something can be done by standing between the two.
Of course, there are challenges. In March 2025, one of the city's birthing facilities closed, leaving just two. In a city that maintains around 800 births per year, the number of places where you can give birth is decreasing. This isn't just Omura's problem — it's a structural issue of obstetrician shortages affecting all regional Japan — but this kind of reality exists behind the "#1" label. Mayor Sonoda himself, upon receiving the top ranking, said he wanted to "use this as an opportunity for everyone to take an interest in solving local issues and to participate together." That kind of attitude feels very Omura to me.
What You Can't Understand Without Living Here
One last thing.
There's a quality to Omura that rankings and statistics can't capture: the "distance between people."
It's different from the anonymity of Tokyo, and different from the overly close human relationships of a typical rural town. Perhaps because it's a city with many newcomers — given the presence of three Self-Defense Force units — there seems to be a natural openness toward outsiders. For families raising children, I think this matters more than people might expect.
The essence of a city that's easy to raise children in can't be measured by systems and facilities alone. I believe it lies in the casual, everyday comfort that makes you think, "I want to live here." Omura has that. I'm grateful to be part of this place.
Envital primarily supports overseas technology companies entering the Japanese market, while also being involved in regional community development. We're exploring ways to make our business work through technology while contributing to local communities.
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